The EST textbook situation: An enquiry

Reference to the now extensive literature on EST syllabus and textbook design gives rise to serious doubts as to whether the present EST textbooks are likely to be capable of fulfilling the claims made for them and the expectations they arouse. An enquiry is reported into the teaching contents of ten representative texts, based on parameters which include the extent to which the teaching points dealt with in each textbook cover the main communicative features of formal scientific and technological discourse, the amount and relevance of the explanations and examples given, the number, coverage and adequacy of the exercises provided, and the kinds and extent of the supplementary aids for teachers and students supplied (visuals, notes, glossaries, etc.). The results reveal that there are serious and widespread deficiencies in all the textbooks studied, and the implications for the present and future state of EST/ESP are drawn. Possible reasons which have led to this situation are discussed and tentative solutions indicated.